The Boat and Its Cargo Might Be Long Gone But Can Volvo Salvage All of Its Deals?
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| Volvo's award winning XC90 SUV may be one of the most serious individual casualties, but Volvo on the whole lost 2,020 vehicles. |
While lackluster new vehicle sales have provoked 'sinking ship' analogies by automotive industry pundits recently, no one could have imagined taking the words seriously.
But that is the case due to the December 14th sinking of the Tricolor. What's the aftermath? Just when new models were about to prop up browbeaten dealers, they are left scrambling to fill orders.
Nearly 360 Volvo XC90s are now waterlogged memories. That may not seem like a lot considering that close to 9,000 orders have been placed for the award winning SUV in the U.S. alone, but factor in that only 290 units were delivered in October and 881 in November and its easy to grasp the problem.
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| The Tricolor on its side just prior to submerging in 25 m (82 ft) of water. |
The loss of almost 360 cars to approximately 360 dealers makes it possible for each retailer to bare the brunt of the damage, and need only to placate one prospective customer each.
But the XC90 is only part of the problem. Seventy percent of the ships cargo was Volvo cars and SUVs, 2,020 in all. That leaves dealers of the Swedish brand in a flurry trying to appease frustrated consumers.
Those who are willing to bide their time have been put to the front of the line as all three Volvo factories rush to assemble new product. That said delivery will take approximately 45 days, if all goes smoothly. If the customer isn't willing to wait and the dealer can't find a suitable alternative vehicle it's refund time - a dealer's worst nightmare.
All said, dealer trades and reallocations should do the job for most situations. But those who want a specific color or an unusual assortment of optional features will be out of luck.